


something has to change

by sleebysloth



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Gen, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Neil Josten, M/M, Neil Josten Wears a Dress, Neil Josten is a Little Shit, Soft Andrew Minyard, guys i want them to b happy, i just, no angst just neil in a dress, ur welcome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleebysloth/pseuds/sleebysloth
Summary: “I don’t want it anymore,” Neil announces as he walks into the Foxes meeting room with Andrew by his side, neutral bitch face back on and eyes glittering with something Neil can only call mischief.Matt ventures to ask, “What?”“A gender. I’m throwing mine out, effective: immediately.”or: Neil wears a dress and is generally a little shit. Also he comes out
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 10
Kudos: 144





	something has to change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blazinggaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blazinggaze/gifts).



> song title is from Something Has To Change by The Japanese House
> 
> this is literally just me indulging in my neil-wearing-a-dress-and-is-genderfluid desires  
> a gift for Blazinggaze because :^ love u b here u go

The skirt is a deep blue, and feels like a cloud in Neils arms.

He holds it up by the waist line and smiles as it swishes through the air. It’s the best one out of the various skirts and dresses Allison gave to him while she was cleaning out her “outdated” wardrobe, and he can’t wait to feel the light fabric against his hips. The other dresses she had thrown at him are pretty, but the skirt is… different.

It’s beautiful, in a quiet sort of way.

Andrew comes up beside him, and Neil feels him in a light touch at his side before blonde hair partially obscures his vision and the shorter man’s arms circle around his waist gently. “That one?”

“Yeah. I like the colour. Also…”

“Also?”

“…It swishes.” Neil shakes the skirt as he says it, smiling.

“…You’re so dumb.”

“You love me.”

Andrew huffs into his neck, and Neil feels his lips move against his neck as he speaks. “3000”

Neil grins, and nuzzles into his boyfriend’s hair as he carefully leans more of his weight against Andrew. Andrew casually accommodates him, and Neil feels so fucking light it hurts. It’s not often he gets these soft moments with Andrew, and each one he holds close to his chest. 

“That’s an awful lot of numbers. Did you need to count on your fingers to calculate that? Do you even have a process for this? Are you just naming random numbers now? Andrew the people need to know.”

“Fucking math majors, I count on my fingers once and now I get this shit everyday,” Andrew grumbles, burrowing deeper into the junction between Neil’s collarbone and shoulder. 

Andrew mumbles something into Neil’s neck that he doesn’t quite catch. “What?”

“I said, pronouns?”

Neil hums, folding the blue skirt against his chest. “He/him for now.” Andrew nods, lips against Neil’s skin turning into an open mouthed kiss that makes Neil shiver, and he arches his neck slightly. 

“Do you think I should say something to them? The team I mean. I think Allison looked a bit confused when I asked for the clothes. They might have questions about-“

“Fuck them and their questions,” Andrew interrupts, voice betraying nothing but nonchalance, though Neil knows better. Andrew straightens, and uses his grip on Neil’s hips to gently spin him around to face him. Neil has to catch his breath at Andrew’s fierce eyes, golden brown with something hard hidden in their depths. “It’s up to you, and you only. You don’t owe them anything.”

Neil smiles softly, and taps the top of Andrew’s pale wrist with one finger. “I know.”

—

“I don’t want it anymore,” Neil announces as he walks into the Foxes meeting room with Andrew by his side, neutral bitch face back on and eyes glittering with something Neil can only call mischief. Neil plops down onto the couch and leans against Andrew after he gives the ok in the form of a slight nod.

The team share quizzical looks, and Matt ventures to ask, “What?”

“A gender. I’m throwing mine out, effective: immediately.”

Nicky gasps excitedly, “Neil, baby, are you?!”

“Coming out? Unfortunately,” Neil says, inspecting his nails. Renee nods at him from across the room, face full of happiness. Neil nods back, a small smile creeping out. Even though the whole coming out thing never really bothered him before, he’d like for his family to accept him all the same. 

Dan speaks up, grinning. “Can I ask what your pronouns are?” Beside her, Matt nods vigorously, a similar grin gracing his features. 

“He/him.” Andrew speaks up, glaring at each of the Foxes in turn as he does. “But that’ll probably change. Anyone got a problem with that?”

The room is filled with a chorus of “nope”, and Neil feels warmth spreading from every corner of his body.

“As long as you don’t tell the press, Neil think of your imag-“ Andrew throws a pillow at Kevin and hits him right in the face. Kevin falls off his stool, sputtering- “Ok, okay! Andrew stop throwing pillows at me I’m sorry!”

Aaron says nothing, but Neil doesn't mind.

—

Neil walks across campus with Matt by their side, chatting animatedly with him about how their new professor for Japanese is kind of the coolest person ever. 

“-then she just stands on her desk, flips a bottle of vodka, *lands* it, then sits back down like it never happened and continues with class. Also she told that idiot guy Jared to ‘shut his fucking mouth if he’s going to keep mispronouncing words purposely’. I’m actually in love, Matt she said she would come to one of our games later on in the year when her wife gets back from-“ Neil stops partway through their story and looks around themselves quizzically. 

Matt stops as well, slightly confused at his friend’s behaviour, but just looks to where Neil is looking. A girl runs past them, shouting “Stephanie! Steph, wait up!” to a person with an undercut standing near the campus cafe. Interest piqued, Matt turns back to Neil, who has shrugged the incident off and is already beginning to continue their conversation. 

“So yeah, anyway-“

“Neil, what was that?” Matt says.

Neil shrugs. “Just thought she was calling me for a second, it’s nothing.”

Matt stares at them, mind working wildly. “You- you used to be called Stephanie, um,” Matt fumbles with how to talk about the years Neil had spent as a runaway. “Before? But Stephanie is a girl’s name- oh. Oh wait.”

Neil nods at Matt, seeing the realisation in his eyes. “Mom didn’t really care about the whole genderfluid thing on the run. Being a girl, or other things was easy to pass as, and as long as I didn’t look anything like Nathaniel we were good.”

“Ah, gotcha.” They continue walking, falling back into step. Matt thinks of something suddenly, and stops in his tracks again. “Wait, Neil, do you want to be called something different now? Because if you do it’s cool dude- wait is dude fine? It’s gender neutral right?”

Neil laughs softly, “No, I like Neil. And dude is fine.”

They glance at their watch, and their eyes widen as they note the time. _“Shit,_ I’m late for Japanese. Catch you later?”

Matt nods, and laughs as Neil quickly turns and starts running through the crowd of students, their lithe form quickly disappearing in the crush. 

Matt watches his best friend go, and feels a flicker of pride that they felt comfortable telling him about their previous names.

—

“Allison, what about this one?” Allison looks over at the dress Neil is holding and scoffs. 

“That’s a last season _scrap_ , forget it girl. If you think we are walking out of this shop without _proper clothes_ for all that body you got, you are _wrong_. Now let’s go to the change rooms, I already picked out a shit ton of cool dresses.” Allison gestures to the colourful pile of clothes thrown over her arm.

Neil laughs at her friend, content to be pulled along in the raging current that is Allison Reynolds on a shopping spree. 

The first thing Allison throws at her is a two piece shirt and shorts in pastel greens and blues. The colours are soothing, and as Neil looks in the mirror she allows herself to think the colours look good with her hair. She tugs gently on a stray curl (Allison had braided it before going out; as well as doing her eyeliner) and pulls back the curtain to show Allison. 

“Ah! That looks awesome! I am truly a fashion god.” Allison squints at the outfit, thinking. “We can pair it with some fishnets and maybe trainers? Andrew will _thank me_ your ass looks amazing in those shorts.”

Neil smiles, if not a little confusedly. Sure, the shorts are tight, but other than that they're just like any other pair of shorts she owns. She guesses she’ll take Allison’s word for it.

Item Number Two is a long, flowing dress in a sort of satiny fabric. The feel of the dress can only be described as elegant, and Neil feels a little awkward in the dress. She’s not very self conscious about her scars anymore, but it still makes her a bit apprehensive to have a lot of them on display at once like this. The dress’s low back and spaghetti straps don’t give her a lot of cover, but it makes up for it with the nice twirl it gives her. 

Allison smiles at this one as well, and Neil tentatively smiles back. She knows her shoulders kind of ruin the look plus her flat chest, but if she’s being honest she doesn’t really mind. 

It’s pretty, so Neil feels pretty.

The last dress Neil tries on is almost a robe with the way it dips down her chest loosely with only the ties to keep it tight, but it works. Neil never really (willingly) wears tight stuff anyway. She plays with the ruffles around the sleeves and hemline, and admires the soft pink’s and red’s. The strawberries give an almost whimsical, childish vibe to the dress, but Neil likes it. 

She thinks back to a childhood that wasn’t so happy, thinks of bloody hands and the taste of metal, then looks at herself in the mirror again. 

She likes what she sees.

**Author's Note:**

> What can I say I’m a sucker for Neil and my friend sent me a post about this on insta yesterday  
> Me being the gender fluid paperclip I am I wrote this all in a haze of dress+Neil and finished around 2am  
> Yes the last dress Neil wears is The Strawberry Dress im a hoe and it looks good
> 
> For anyone waiting on an update to my other quirk au aftg fic, I am aiming to have the second chapter out before?? xmas??  
> I would say sorry for it taking so long but I did warn u I have no update schedule only void and crying  
> I am however working on another aftg fic in a myth and legend au so b sure to check that out when I finally get around to posting it


End file.
